Emotional Indicators

An Art Installation for Treetops 

The phrase  "emotional indicators" was used by a member of Handspring, a theatrical puppet company in Capetown, South Africa. The idea is to identify specific parts of the body (human or animal) that, by virtue of movement or shape can instantly elicit a specific feeling.  The phrase tickles me because it is such a clinical description of something whose intention is so subjective.  For me, the term distills an artist's hopes. 

Although my subject matter appears to be horse related-I don't identify myself as a horse artist.  My intentions have less to do with the horse subject than to the emotional indicators I am able to finesse through the horse image.

This glorious venue for chamber music concerts only recently opened its doors to the Visual Arts. The soaring yet intimate space at Treetops is an artist's dream. The work I am presenting on March 21 was conceived with this space in mind.  One group of photographic images of polymer clay sculptures will be printed cutouts, enlarged to almost life sized (horse-sized). Another group of smaller prints are based on Gauguin's "White Horse". I constructed three sculptures using the horse/rider images from this painting as models.  I photographed these sculptures and created digital collages using my own original paintings and drawings as well as Gauguin's. They are my "riffs" on "White Horse", a friendly nod to the musical space. And as with music, technique is only important if it can deliver the emotional indications of the artist.